Mullberry- any good for turning? [Archive] - Sawmill Creek Woodworking Community

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Rob Cunningham

11-09-2009, 2:10 PM

My neighbor had some tree work done. There is Mullberry, Maple, Black Oak(I think) and a little Walnut. He said I could take what I wanted, so Saturday I picked up some of each. (small gloat:)). Just wondering if the Mullberry is any good for turning bowls?
I don't have any pics to show, but my aching legs and back muscles are proof that I picked up the wood.

Chris Stolicky

11-09-2009, 2:17 PM

I haven't turned any Mulberry myself (yet), but I have seen bowls people have turned and they said that it turns okay. You do get a nice bright yellow color and open grain out of it, similar to ash.

Scott Lux

11-09-2009, 2:18 PM

Mulberry is a bright yellow when first cut and will age to a beautiful golden brown. The few pieces I've done were great fun to turn.

Lux

Ern Reeders

11-09-2009, 2:44 PM

Same here; gold with green tints when green. Lovely. Then fades.

It's related to Osage Orange I think.

Steve Schlumpf

11-09-2009, 3:16 PM

Rob - congrats on your wood haul but photos would have been nice! Hope you got as much wood as you could as all of those mentioned would be great for turning!

Rob Cunningham

11-09-2009, 5:47 PM

Not the best pictures, I snapped these when I got home from work. The pieces with white on the end I already had from before. I also grabbed the piece of Sycamore on Saturday

Steve Schlumpf

11-09-2009, 5:53 PM

Looks great! Should keep you busy roughing out for a couple of days!

Bernie Weishapl

11-09-2009, 9:37 PM

Mulberry is a nice wood to turn. It will turn everything in the shop yellow when sanding. It is a bright yellow when turned but turns to a mellow brown later on. Really a nice color of brown.

Thom Sturgill

11-09-2009, 9:43 PM

Mulberry is a nice wood to turn. It will turn everything in the shop yellow when sanding. It is a bright yellow when turned but turns to a mellow brown later on. Really a nice color of brown.

Unless it gets spalted, then it turns grey with hints of yellow. DAMHIK

David E Keller

11-09-2009, 10:41 PM

I agree with the previos posters about the mulberry. I actually prefer the color it becomes to the color seen initially... It's a very warm golden brown. The mulbery I've turned has been very dense and polishes beautifully. Looks like a nice haul.

Jeff Nicol

11-10-2009, 12:15 AM

Mulberry is hard and has wonderful grain and has some irredesence in the grain that shows up when finished. It does irritate the throat some when sanding, not sure why but I all ways use the dust collector. I need to get some more soon as I only have a few hundred pounds left!

All free wood is good!!

Jeff

Gary Simmons

11-10-2009, 8:10 AM

Rob
Recently got a few pieces of Mulberry and made some stoppers. It turned just fine. I was a little hesitant but I like the looks... Would definitely turn some more...Gary

Jim Underwood

11-10-2009, 8:44 AM

Mulberry is a member of the breadfruit family, as is Osage Orange. It's color is not quite as bright as Osage Orange, but is similar. The wood turns well, and polishes well.

Chris Stolicky

11-10-2009, 8:55 AM

I believe this is mulberry. I took the pics at one of our club meetings. I wish I know who turned it to I could give proper credit.

Roland Falk

11-10-2009, 9:03 AM

Hi Rob -
just wanted to say hi, I see that you live in Horsham Pa. I work in Horsham and live in Wyncote.

Rob Cunningham

11-10-2009, 12:53 PM

Hi Roland, it is a small world. Where in Horsham do you work?

Roland Falk

11-10-2009, 2:02 PM

On Dresher road just south of Horsham. Are you interested in any oak wood that's started to spalt? Some rather large pieces! Meet a woman on Craigslist who had a rather large oak tree cut down about 6 months ago in her yard in Huntington Valley. I've gone over 3x already for some nice wood.

Leo Van Der Loo

11-11-2009, 2:09 AM

Here are 2 pictures, one is a mix of Mulberry and Osage Orange, none real freshly turned, and one that shows 6 Mulberry bowls that have been used for 6 or 7 years as individual salad bowls, sorry for that less than sharp picture, I made it at the place were they are used and had not the best lighting to make a good picture.
The Mulberry has always given me a hard time in drying, as it likes to split, only very slow drying in a brown paper bag at a cool place does work for me :eek:

Rob Cunningham

11-11-2009, 8:24 AM